Using column defaults

Column defaults automatically assign a specified value to a particular column whenever someone enters a new row into a database table. The default value assigned requires no action on the part of the client application, however if the client application does specify a value for the column, the new value overrides the column default value.

Column defaults can quickly and automatically fill columns with information, such as the date or time a row is inserted, or the user ID of the person entering the information. Using column defaults encourages data integrity, but does not enforce it. Client applications can always override defaults.

When default values are defined using variables that start with @, the value used for the default is value of the variable at the moment the DML or load statement is executed.

 Supported default values

Creating column defaults
Altering and dropping column defaults
Work with column defaults
Current date and time defaults
The user ID defaults
The AUTOINCREMENT default
The GLOBAL AUTOINCREMENT default
The NEWID default
The NULL default
String and number defaults
Constant expression defaults